Leaving Mass early?!

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Monicathree

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This past Sunday, cause my baby was being a squirmy wormy, I had to go to the back of the church. Well, I am in awe of how many people bone out early. I mean, I know we have really good buffets, but come on. They receive and leave. I understand if there is an extenuating sp? circumstance, but to leave early just to beat the rush?! Yaahhh 😦 Anyway, guess I just needed to vent.

Peace
 
I think it was Scott Hahn who talked about the fifteen minutes or so after you receive communion during which God himself is flowing through you - a wonderful time for worship and reflection which is wasted if you just cut and run!

Kieron
 
Fr. Kenneth Roberts once wrote in a book that a priest was having this problem in his parish. So he had Altar Servers waiting in the back of the church, with candles, and would escort anyone who left mass early to their cars with the lit candle to remind them they are now bring christ out into the world.

He said he quickly stopped having that problem.

Josh
 
Just be careful judging those people leaving early. There may be a few that have a valid reason. Probably the number that have a valid reason is reaaaaaaal small, but there are a few.

I remember seeing on this board a few days ago, someone talking about a person with Torrets (sp?) that would rush out when the felt an attack coming.
 
I can recall being in the back at Mass one time, and seeing more than a few people leaving right after the Our Father…

At my parents’ parish, they have the phenomenon of people arriving up to an hour early for the Saturday evening mass so they can claim the prime “parking spots” next to the door (which are actually the fire lane). Then those people bolt right after Communion so they can be the first out of the parking lot, and first in line at the nearby restaurants. Sometimes the pastor would say things about people not staying until the end, and it seemed like on those days even more people would leave early! They’ve also been threatening for years to ticket or tow cars that are parked in the fire lane, but they never do it.
 
I heard a great quote, “The only one who left the last supper early was Judas.”

In Him, through her,
Pio Magnus
 
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PioMagnus:
I heard a great quote, “The only one who left the last supper early was Judas.”

In Him, through her,
Pio Magnus
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very good quote
 
We used to have a big problem with this in our parish. A few years ago, we had a visiting priest from India who decided to speak up after a few months of watching this. He didn’t yell or get angry, he just expressed his surprise and dismay that so many people who had so much to be grateful for couldn’t even devote an extra few minutes to God once a week. Apparently his parish in India didn’t have this problem.

It worked. People still do leave early, but they are in the vast minority. Most people stay put through the entire recessional song.

I must say that the altar server/candle escort for the early leavers is one of the most clever ideas I’ve heard to solve this problem.😉
 
Leaving before the priest is IMHO just plain rude. There’s nothing more important than finishing the liturgy with a little respect.

One priest I’ve know for years referred to those trying to beat him down the aisle as “thundering buffalo”. If you listen closely in some parishes, you’ll hear and feel the mass exodus and it really does bring up the image of a stampeding herd.

My kids used to question why we stayed until the song ended and I explained it’s because Jesus and the priest are our hosts and it’s rude to leave before the priest does. It made perfect sense to them at 5 and it still makes perfect sense even to my 14 y/o. When we moved to Michigan last fall, I also sought out a parish where the KofC leads the Rosary after mass. So now we’re there even longer. There’s nothing wrong with devoting a couple of hours a week to remembering what’s good and right with the world.
 
My family always stays until the end of the last song too, and so do many other parishoners at my parish. The way I was taught is that the recessional was part of the Mass, not just “traveling music.”
 
Many churches serve donuts and coffee after the mass, I think that such a move could really increase the number of folks who stay to the end. Some more progressive churches which are blessed with a full kitchen, serve a full breakfast afterwards.
 
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threej_lc:
Fr. Kenneth Roberts once wrote in a book that a priest was having this problem in his parish. So he had Altar Servers waiting in the back of the church, with candles, and would escort anyone who left mass early to their cars with the lit candle to remind them they are now bring christ out into the world.

He said he quickly stopped having that problem.

Josh
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This is GREAT!
 
As an altar server, I have to say one of the most obnoxious things is when you are heading back up to the sacristy after mass, and you can’t get their because people are already flooding the hallways…

In Him, through her,
Pio Magnus
 
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threej_lc:
Fr. Kenneth Roberts once wrote in a book that a priest was having this problem in his parish. So he had Altar Servers waiting in the back of the church, with candles, and would escort anyone who left mass early to their cars with the lit candle to remind them they are now bring christ out into the world.

He said he quickly stopped having that problem.

Josh
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THAT IS AWESOME!!!:rotfl:
 
I am a convert…Grew up Methodist, and have been a part of several other Protestant denomi-
nations…NO ONE ever left before the last note of the last song was sung…NO ONE…When I became a Cathoilc I was shocked to see so many people leaving directly after receiving Holy Communion…There are so many empty spots in the pews as the recessional hymn is begun…It’s just unblievable…
I think it is incredibley rude to leave right after receiving Communion…mostly to beat the rush. Our parish is very large, so there is a real parking problem…but, that is no excuse in my book…
 
How many servers did that priest have? In my church we only have 3 servers per mass. I don’t know how we could follow them out, but I would like to give it a shot. (My priest wouldn’t go for it though…)

In Him through her,
Pio Magnus
 
St. Philip Neri, who lived in the 16th Century, was the Priest in the story about the candles (or at least he was one of them). A remarkable Priest who was well known for his ministry to children, St. Philip Neri was astonished and saddened when he saw parishioners leave Mass early. It became his custom to signal to his altar boys when he observed this. The boys would retrieve their candles and rush to escort the person out of the Church and down the street. The great Saint wished to give honor to Jesus, in reparation for the lack of respect shown to Him by the Communicant.

I think I read this in St. Leonard’s book, The Hidden Treasure. Awesome book, great reminder about the gift of the Mass!

Wish more Priests did this!
 
I’ve seen this a lot, too - except for one place. There’s a parish near me that was converted from the Anglican church in the early '80s (it’s fully Roman Catholic). They use the Anglican Liturgy, and have a very formal High Mass. Anyone who tries to bolt out of Mass after communion there will find the doors locked! They are not opened until the priest and the rest of the recessional group reach it. I think that more parishes should do this.
 
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zzzimbob:
I’ve seen this a lot, too - except for one place. There’s a parish near me that was converted from the Anglican church in the early '80s (it’s fully Roman Catholic). They use the Anglican Liturgy, and have a very formal High Mass. Anyone who tries to bolt out of Mass after communion there will find the doors locked! They are not opened until the priest and the rest of the recessional group reach it. I think that more parishes should do this.
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Just don’t tell the fire marshall.
 
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